Portret van een Navajoman en zijn moeder 1873

This stereograph of a Navajo man and his mother was created by Timothy O'Sullivan, likely in 1873, during the U.S. Geological Survey expeditions in the American West. Photography at this time was often tied to colonial expansion. O'Sullivan, working with the U.S. government, documented landscapes and people, reinforcing ideas about the West as a territory to be explored, studied, and ultimately, controlled. Notice how the subjects are presented: the man with his bow suggests a romanticized view of the "native," while the overall composition implies a need to document and categorize. Stereographs were popular forms of entertainment, consumed by a wide audience. As such, they actively shaped public perception of the West and its inhabitants. By researching expedition records, period newspapers, and the cultural context of the time, we can better understand the complex power dynamics at play in this seemingly simple image. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.